Description: We woke up to a beautiful day and decided that we'd go to the zoo. This was our first trip to the zoo in years, and I was looking forwards to seeing the koalas (on loan for the summer of '08.)
It was $5 to park, and $13.50 for each of us to get into the park. Children are $8.50. When purchasing our tickets, we were also offered tickets to the dolphin show at no cost. We were also given a summer schedule that listed the different chats and feedings that would be happening, and what times they were.
I really liked how the Indianapolis Zoo was laid out. It is divided into eight sections, oceans, marine mammals, dolphin adventure, deserts, rides, plains, encounters and forests. Each section then had what I would describe as a walking path that led you through to see the different animals. Many of the exhibits have several angles that you can see the animals, which I liked because you are more likely to see the animals depending on their mood.
The polar bear, the walrus, and the dolphin displays were great because you could see the animals in the water as they played. It was fun to watch them swim around underwater.
The dolphin show was a great relief from the heat. There is a "Save the Earth" story and the dolphins do tricks, and after that they do some more tricks. Many people did not seem aware that you cannot bring food or drinks into the dolphin show. After the dolphin show, we went into the underwater viewing dome and saw the dolphins swimming underwater. It was amazing to stand in the dome, surrounded by water and see the dolphins swimming around you. Important to note: people with claustrophobic issues may not like the dolphin dome. It's a little overwhelming.
The only fault that I had with our trip is that while the zoo is very nicely laid out, it is not nicely labeled as you walk through the zoo. In front of each "zone" there is a sign with an arrow, but that's about it. We walked through the paths, and tried to follow the map, but there were a few times that we had to back track, because we took the wrong way. In fact, while reviewing my map today, I realized that we completely missed the oceans area because the path we followed started us with the polar bear.
I can't really say which animals had the best exhibit, because everyone has their own favorite animals. My husband likes the polar bears because he had to write a report on them in 4th grade.
But, I will say that the meercat was pretty cute.
It is important to note that the rides area cost extra money. There is a roller coaster, train, carousel, and pony ride that take one ticket, and a 3-d ride that takes 2 tickets. Tickets are $2.25 each or 3 for $6, 5 for $9, and 7 for $12.
We ate lunch at the Cafe on the Commons. We each got a combo meal with a drink, and it was about $15 for two of us. The food was okay. We ate outside and watched the lemurs play, and also watched the ducks in the pond area. The ducks are very used to being fed, and come very close to people.
It was a lot of fun going to the zoo. The Indianapolis Zoo is very clean, and has very friendly employees. I would highly recommend that anyone who is in the area go to the zoo.
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